OPEN FIELD
A performance at the Merce Cunningham Studio
April 1 – 3, 2005
Press information: Gilles Obermayer (917) 282-7420
Laura Flowers (917) 710-6646
Reservation information: (212) 567-1838, ext: 3
March 6, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Open Field, will be presented April 1st through 3rd, (Fri. 4/1 at 9PM, Sat. 4/2 and Sun. 4/3 @ 8PM) at the Merce Cunningham Studio, 55 Bethune Street (at Washington Street). Tickets are $15 for adults or $12 for seniors and students. Tickets may be reserved by calling (212) 567-1838, extension 3.
Open Field is Gilles Obermayer and Laura Flowers' newest collaborative performance, featuring nine dancers, six musicians and one video artist. This is their third consecutive season at the Merce Cunningham Studio. The program will include three dance pieces with live music, choreographed by Laura Flowers and two new music compositions by Gilles Obermayer.
Laura Flowers created two new works for this project and is bringing back last year's well received Box Set.
Box Set is a quartet for four women (Hope Davis, Megan Hillman, Jennifer Pike and Emily Quant). It is a look at the close friendship, occasional conflicts and individuality of four young girls as they attempt to be little women. The music is by John Adams and will be played live by Ben Baron on clarinet and Martin Labazevich on piano.
Tango MetaFour is a new piece for four dancers (Daniel Linehan, Emily Quant, Marcelo Rueda and Nicole Tronzano-Speletic), choreographed to original music by Carl Landa (piano, hammer dulcimer and melodica) and Gilles Obermayer (percussion).
The inspiration for the piece Open Field, comes from Mark Strand's poem, Keeping Things Whole. The music is written by Gilles Obermayer for computer generated sounds and percussion instruments. The music consists of ten segments, five electro-acoustic and five instrumental, alternating throughout the fifteen minute composition. The computer will determine the order and length of the segments as the piece is progressing, making each performance unique. The dance, choreographed by Laura Flowers, will be performed by five dancers (Hope Davis, Laura Flowers, Michael Helland,Daniel Linehan, and Nicole Tronzano-Speletic). The dance is made up of multiple vignettes presented on a blank canvas or open field. The relationship of the dance to the music will change each night based on the computer's choices.
In addition to writing scores for Open Field and Tango MetaFour, Gilles Obermayer will also be presenting Shore and Sorrow.
Shore will be performed by Malina Rauschenfels (cello), Ken Pierson (piano and accordion) and Gilles Obermayer (flute and percussion). Accompanying this piece will be a live video manipulation by Dan Iglesia.
Sorrow is a musical intermezzo for cello (Malina Rauschenfels), clarinet (Ben Baron) and percussion (Gilles Obermayer).
Lighting design for all pieces is by Aaron Black and costumes are by Lynn Marie Ruse.
Gilles Obermayer started his career as a musician and composer in France in the late seventies. From 1981 to 2000 Mr. Obermayer lived in Scandinavia where he served on the faculty of the Norwegian National College of Dance in Oslo, (1982-95), the Swedish National College of Dance (1995-97) and the Balett Akademien (1995-00) in Stockholm. He has been on the Faculty at Barnard College, Department of Dance, in NYC, since 2000 and the Music Coordinator since 2003. Mr. Obermayer has written scores for Norwegian and Swedish national television and radio, as well as for many European and American jazz and modern dance companies, including Norway's Zakraz Dance Company, Sweden's Modern Jazz Dance Ensemble, New York's Gabriel Masson Dance, Goucher College, Barnard College and others. As a performer, Obermayer has toured throughout Europe and Africa as a solo artist as well as with the Avant-Garde Ethno-Jazz-Punk ensemble GAH!!! and the Early Music Ensembles: Pro Musica Antigua and Kalenda Maya. He has released six solo CD's and has just completed a new one with composer and musician, Carl Landa.
Laura Flowers is focused on developing her own choreography after years of dancing in the works of other choreographers including, Gabriel Masson, Sue Bernhard, Alan Danielson, Jeff Rebudal, Maxine Steinman, Marjie Citron and Sabatino Verlezza. She has taught at various schools in the NYC area, including the José Limón School, Peridance Center, Steffi Nossen School of Dance, Dancewave, Dowling College and Long Island University in Brooklyn, as well as in Portland, Maine. She has choreographed works for LIU, the Limón School, and other performance venues in both NYC and Maine. She received a BFA in Dance from Adelphi University and an MFA in Dance from New York University. This is her third year in collaboration with Gilles Obermayer.